Automobile theft is a very common crime, resulting in higher automobile insurance rates for all drivers. Each year newer and more sophisticated anti-theft devices are manufactured in the hope that these devices will prevent the theft of some automobiles. Unfortunately, automobile thieves adapt quickly. No sooner has a new anti-theft device been developed, than an automobile thief has thought of a way to disable or circumvent the anti-theft device and steal the automobile.
Many stolen automobiles are stolen for profit, wherein the automobiles are sold by the thieves or the automobile is stripped of its valuable component parts. However, some automobiles are stolen for alternative motives such as "joy riding" or the automobile may be used in the commission of another crime.
When an automobile is stolen, the owner of the vehicle usually reports the theft to police. The description of the automobile and its license plate number are then identified in the police records as being a stolen vehicle. Often police locate the stolen vehicle while it is still in the possession of the automobiles thieves. If the automobile is being driven when it is identified by police, the thieves may try to outrun the pursuant police, resulting in a dangerous high speed chase.
The present invention system helps to both prevent automobile thefts and prevent high speed chases by allowing both the owner of the automobile and the police to disable the automobile remotely after it is stolen. Since the disabling device is not activated until after the car is stolen, thieves do not know that the disabling device is present and do not attempt to disconnect the system when they are stealing the automobile. After an automobile is stolen the owner may not realize that his/her automobile has been stolen until the automobile is many miles away. The present invention system utilized mobile telephone technology to deactivate the stolen automobile. With such a system the owner of the car need only dial the disabling code for the automobile into a phone and the code will be transmitted to all points within the mobile telephone cellular region, which may encompass hundreds of square miles. If the automobile is first found by police, the police may disable the automobile by dialing the same disabling code into a telephone. Alternatively, the police may also transmit the disabling code from small transmitters carried in the police cars. This would allow the police to selectively disable a car, involved in a high speed chase, at a point most opportune to prevent injury and/or property damage.
Remote controlled devices that disable an automobile are in common use. The most typical device is incorporated into an alarm system, wherein the owner of the vehicle has a low power, short range transmitter that disables the car and activates an alarm. Such systems are exemplified in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,691,801 to Mann, et al.; 4,159,467 to Ballin; 3,987,408 to Sassover, et al.; and 4,740,775 to Price. With all of these devices the thief will know the car is disabled as the thief is stealing the car, giving the thief an opportunity to circumvent the device.
High powered, long distance disabling devices that do not disable an automobile until after it is stolen are exemplified in U.S. Pat. No. 4,067,411 to Conley, et al. In such device the automobile that has been stolen responds to a signal transmitted from a central transmitter. The automobile then disables itself if it is in the range of the transmitter. With such disabling systems the range is limited and the individual owner cannot disable the automobile. Similarly, the police must also use the central transmitter and cannot selectively disable the automobile at will.
Many anti-theft devices also place transmitters into automobiles. With such a system, the automobile can remotely alert the owner that the automobile is being stolen, or may transmit a signal so that the police may locate the automobile. Examples of such systems are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,673,921 to Saito et al; 4,523,178 to Fulhorst; 4,218,763 to Kelly et al; 3,665,312 to Jarvis: and 3,646,515 to Vodehnal. With such transmitting devices the owner or police can track the location of a stolen vehicle but cannot selectively disable the car at an unknown location.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to create a remotely activated automobile disabling device wherein an owner of a vehicle can dial a disabling code into a telephone and disable the vehicle at any point within the range of a mobile telephone network. Additionally, the police can selectively transmit the disabling code from transmitters within their squad cars, disabling stolen cars that may be involved in the commission of a crime or a high speed chase.